Nine Gallons #2: True Stories by Susie Cagle
Reviewed by Laura Roberts
When I saw the 15th panel of Susie Cagle’s Nine Gallons #2, I just had to read it aloud in solidarity: “Aw yeah, Food Not Bombs!”
Having first found out about Food Not Bombs during my days as a not-so-radical Antioch College undergrad, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for this anarchist organization that seeks to feed the hungry by reclaiming food thrown out by the Fat Cats of society.
Yes, food is “reclaimed” from dumpsters by intrepid activists, converted into vegan fuel, and served up hot to all those in need of a nourishing meal. If you think it’s gross to eat food that was thrown away, I think you might want to delve more deeply into the subject of dumpster diving and research more thoroughly what your favorite megaconglomerate grocery store throws away on a daily basis, in the name of “fresh” food.
Nine Gallons doesn’t get too heavily into the politics of this group’s food sources (though I hope it will in subsequent issues), instead focusing on Susie’s involvement with the group and her local chapter’s trials and tribulations as they strive to serve up wholesome nutrition to the confused masses. Some sample comments from the rabble:
Image from 9 Gallons #2 by Susie Cagle
I like how Susie’s so-called friends worry about her motivations for joining this activist group, all the while sitting on their lazy duffs and watching Sunday TV. Like, I couldn’t possibly help out with the world’s problems when there’s an afternoon of SHIT TV on, Susie!!
Ugh. Sad, but true. Kill your TV. Really.
Anyway, although I missed the first installment of this earnest zine, I’m looking forward to following Susie’s exploits. How will she recover from the foot-in-mouth disease she contracts at the end of episode 2?! Will her snobbily bourgeois roommate ever GET it?! The suspense is killing me!
Seriously, though. Food Not Bombs is worth checking out, as is Cagle’s commentary on her involvement with the group here in Nine Gallons. Whether you’re homeless and hungry, a dumpster-diving jock looking to save your beer money, or broke as a joke, free food can be a lifesaver. The politics of a “non-organization” that provides food for people who need it are endlessly fascinating, and this zine is just the tip of a very vast iceberg of food-related politics. I look forward to reading more of Cagle’s work, in Nine Gallons and elsewhere.
FYI: The real-life Susie Cagle is also an Oakland resident who writes about food politics, urban blight and “the new trendy eco pseudo-revolution” at her blog, thisiswhatconcernsme.com, where you can also find episode #1 for your reading pleasure!
To snag your own copy of Nine Gallons #2: True Stories by Susie Cagle, hit up Microcosm Publishing.
